Natascha IV, 1987/88
Holzschnitt, 3 Platten / woodcut, 3 plates
à 232.5 x 182 cm
Handabzug 13/18 auf Kumohadamashi
Japanpapier von Heizaburo Iwano, 276 x
217 cm
Woodcut 13/18 on Kumohadamashi
Japanese paper by Heizaburo Iwano, 276 x 217 cm
Königsblau
Royal blue
Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf
© Franz Gertsch
Franz Gertsch
Cut in Wood. The Donation
20.09.2014 – 15.05.2015
On the occasion of the artist’s generous donation, the Museum Franz Gertsch is exhibiting virtually all of Franz Gertsch’s woodcuts since 1986. Selected paintings will also be included, among them his newest work “Waldweg” [Forest Path] (2013/14), which will have its Swiss premiere.
On the occasion of the artist’s generous donation, the Museum Franz Gertsch is exhibiting virtually all of Franz Gertsch’s woodcuts since 1986. Selected paintings will also be included, among them his newest work “Waldweg” [Forest Path] (2013/14), which will have its Swiss premiere.
Franz Gertsch’s woodcuts are extraordinary in a number of regards. Boasting a previously unattainable degree of precision — both in terms of cutting and printing — and monumental formats which push the limits of the possible even as regards the production of the paper, Gertsch has introduced new dimensions to this traditional media. While the woodcuts are astounding in their perfect representation of reality on
the one hand, the motif forms the background in favour of the pure colour effect on the other. The motif emerges only gradually. The secret of this effect lies in the delicately balanced relationship between motif and colour, which sets a pendulum of perception in motion and leaves it swinging between the poles of abstraction and reality.
The exhibition features woodcuts and paintings by Franz Gertsch dating from 1983 to 2014. The visitor will receive insights into around 30 years of his work as an artist and a substantial idea about the whole of his in part monumental woodcuts. The survey concludes with the new painting “Waldweg” [Forest Path] that takes up and interprets a familiar theme from his woodcuts. It concerns a Tuscan landscape interspersed
with flickering light and sun spots that is closely related to the woodcut “Waldweg (Ausblick)” [Forest Path (Prospect)] (2006). This is not the only point where the close links between the artist’s painted and printed oeuvre are made evident.
Along with the monumental woodcuts and selected paintings to be shown from September in the large exhibition spaces, the Print Room will be included in November. The small-format woodcuts find a fitting exhibition site here, rounding off the survey of the collection of woodcuts in the possession of the Museum Franz Gertsch.
The exhibition was curated by Anna Wesle in collaboration with the artist.
On the occasion of the artist’s generous donation, the Museum Franz Gertsch is exhibiting virtually all of Franz Gertsch’s woodcuts since 1986. Selected paintings will also be included, among them his newest work “Waldweg” [Forest Path] (2013/14), which will have its Swiss premiere.
Franz Gertsch’s woodcuts are extraordinary in a number of regards. Boasting a previously unattainable degree of precision — both in terms of cutting and printing — and monumental formats which push the limits of the possible even as regards the production of the paper, Gertsch has introduced new dimensions to this traditional media. While the woodcuts are astounding in their perfect representation of reality on
the one hand, the motif forms the background in favour of the pure colour effect on the other. The motif emerges only gradually. The secret of this effect lies in the delicately balanced relationship between motif and colour, which sets a pendulum of perception in motion and leaves it swinging between the poles of abstraction and reality.
The exhibition features woodcuts and paintings by Franz Gertsch dating from 1983 to 2014. The visitor will receive insights into around 30 years of his work as an artist and a substantial idea about the whole of his in part monumental woodcuts. The survey concludes with the new painting “Waldweg” [Forest Path] that takes up and interprets a familiar theme from his woodcuts. It concerns a Tuscan landscape interspersed
with flickering light and sun spots that is closely related to the woodcut “Waldweg (Ausblick)” [Forest Path (Prospect)] (2006). This is not the only point where the close links between the artist’s painted and printed oeuvre are made evident.
Along with the monumental woodcuts and selected paintings to be shown from September in the large exhibition spaces, the Print Room will be included in November. The small-format woodcuts find a fitting exhibition site here, rounding off the survey of the collection of woodcuts in the possession of the Museum Franz Gertsch.
The exhibition was curated by Anna Wesle in collaboration with the artist.